Body relaxing lounge chair



May 5, 1959 o. T. BUFFALOW `2,884,923

BODY RELAXING LOUNGE CHAIR Filed March 3l, 1958 ZvSheets-Sheet 1ImmMmmm;

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lNvENToR OSCAR T, BUFFALOW ATTORN EY lUnited States Patent K BODYREIAXNG"LOUNGE"CHAR*y i vOscar' T. `Buialovv, Chattanooga, Tenn.`lamanon Marchal; 195s, serial No, '125;216 A 9 claims. (cl. 12sstyy i.This.invention.relatesy to. bodyy relaxing ,apparatus and more;vparticularly to a.. lounge. chair having`r a relaxing attachment thatreciprocates in an opening in the back of tliechaira4 t O neaohject of:this'invention is to provide alounge chair hayingta relaxing attachmentreciprocated byv an endless slitting-orf.fabriebel-t'travelingl in`arcircuitoustpath. y p

Another object is to provide a relaxingfchair-havinga resilient .rollerextending through an opening-inv the back of the chairinzcontact .with aexible covering .over the opening,:,the roller being reciprocated by acarriage moved f'alqnggatrackby an `endless chain or fabric belt.

Arfurtherrobject of `this invention is to provide arelaxigghairahavinga. resilientvroller extending through an ppcning in'`the ,back of the chair in contact with a exible `covering--.over` theopening, the: roller being .reciprocated by acatriagemoved along .atrack by anendless chain ,Qnfbric belt actuated throughspeedreductionmeans :by .n.rnotor. y y

Still;another` object is to provide a body relaxing .chair having, a.resilient roller` extending, through anopening inthe-backof the chairincontact with aexible covering pvertheopening, vthe roller being somountedy as to adjust itselhautomatically; tov the contour of thepatients body.

',Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentfrom..the.following, description,I taken` in conjunction withV theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. l isa side elevation, partly-broken away, showing a lounge chairwithv an adjustable bac-kl to which one embodiment of this invention isapplied; Eig.ly2 iswan enlarged sectional elevation, on the-line ohFiggz4 illustratingclearly.the construction ofthe relaxingattachmentshown in .place on a chair-in Fig. :1; "F-g13 isfaffurther enlargedsectional Aview of 1a part of the apparatus shown in Fig. 2, showingdetails of construction of the roller, carriage and casters.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view, along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2, of the roller,carriage, casters and rails;

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view, similar to Fig. 4, of the carriagewith casters and rails of a modified construction; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary view of a modiiication of the speed reductiondrive means shown in Figs. 1 and 2, including a motor driving an endlesschain through a worm and gear connection.

Referring now to the drawings, there is shown a lounge chair 1,preferably of the overstuifed type of construction, having a back 2,which is adjustable to many positions between the vertical positionshown in full lines and the horizontal position shown in broken lines inFig. l. An opening 3 is formed in the central portion of the backextending substantially from the top to the bottom of the back, or in alongitudinal direction. A exible covering 4 is firmly attached to thefront surface of the back, thereby covering the opening 3. The exiblecovering may consist of one or more layers of fabric, plastic, leather,rubber, or any other suitable material having adequate characteristicsof exibility, strength and comfort.

Arelaxing-,rollerS istsupported for. free rotationy by a carriagelfwhichfis mounted by means of fourN casters 7,.journaledthereonfforytravel along, a track comprising apair` offrails 48lsuitablysupportedon andattached to a 'framework seeuredtotlieback 211 p Thecarriage 6 comprises a truck 9 to which a bell crank member 10 ispivotallyvattaehed,.asat 11.- Themember ltllincludestwo.likeparallelplates 212, asv shown in lFigs. 3.andt=4,betweenftheonelendsrof-which an axle 13 is i-xed,,asf by means;of bolts. 141l1aving..countersunk at heads, the bolts passingthrough-openingsV inthe plates 12h into` tapped holestin-fthc endsoffgthe` axle 13.- The relaxing rollenSvmay compriseA a-wooden core 15,freely rotatable upon the axle 13, and an outer portion` 16of rubber'or.' other.y suitable resilient material.-

. To the other ends ofntihevplateslZl-areattached the'one endscoftwotensiong springs.17, the otherI ends ofwhich are attached to `the truck9. The construction is' such that,as theacarriagel'rolls Aoni itscasters 7 along the rails 8,the tension springs17.cause thebellcrank'member 10 to-rotate forwardly onftitsy pivot y11, Vthereby forcingthe resilient roller Sto-,bulgerthe cover-ing4 outwardly'somewhat,-,as.illustratedfinlFigs, 1.and`2. When aA patient is seated.i ini Ethe chainv 1. with his back resting.against the covering Aron:thecbacleZ-of vthe chair; the resilient roller Sfvwill be-forcedgently, `but vfirmly, .against the coveringf4 byfthelsprings 17andthe-roller will-automatically adapt ,itself to the contour of thepatients rback asit isrolled upwardly/fand downwardlytin the opening 3.Asillustrated inPig.- 4, the vcasters 7 may bev-grooved in.constructionand the bearing surfaces of the rails 8 maybezV-shapedtoconfortn closely to the shape of the casters.'I'hecasters-are thus held in-placeon the track andthe carriage isprevented from abutting against'the sides-of the frameworkynotshownlAlso, 4the rails a8 have extensions 8A thereon forminghannels lwith:close tolerances-with respecttothe peripheriesnof thecasters ,7 whichare opposite from. the 4rails f-S, thus preventing movement of `thecastrsland therebyofzthe lcarriage away from the rails.

As illustrated in Fig. 5 al modification: of 'this construction maycomprise casters 18 which are single-hanged and rails`=19 thefbearingsurfacesityfvvhicnvv are rectangular in shape;theirailsguidingL thecasters `and thereby the vcarriage toi prevent Lsideitolside-movem'entof the carriage. The trails.A` 19ihave1extensions'-19A1forming-channe1s for caster-@andthe carriage "away yfromthefrailss A connecting rod 20 is pivotally attached at one end by meansof a ball or oilite bearing 21 to the carriage 6. The other end of theconnecting rod is attached by means off a ball bearing 22 to a link ofan endless chain or fabric belt 23, mounted for movement in a circuitouspath around a pair of sprockets 24 and 25, suitably supported for freerotation in a framework attached to the back 2, at points spaced fromeach other and adjacent the ends of the opening 3.

As illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, the chain 23 may be moved, through atrain of pulleys of different diameters and belts connected betweenthem, by an electric motor 26. Thus, the motor 26 rotates a small driveV-pulley 27 around which passes a V-belt 28, also passing around a largeV-pulley 29, which is journaled on the framework attached to the back 2.The axle 30 to which the V-pulley 29 is iixed is driven thereby and, inturn, drives a small V-pulley 31, a V-belt 32 and a large V-pulley 33,which is attached to an axle 34 and, through it, drives the sprocket 2Sand thereby the chain 23. As the chain 23 travels along its circuitouspath around the sprockets 24 and 25, through the connecting rod 20, itdraws the carriage 6 and thereby the freely rotating roller 5, theroller moving upwardly and downwardly in the opening 3, rolling againstthe exible covering 4.

In place of the train of pulleys illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, amodification of the speed reduction means may comprise a worm and gearconnection, as illustrated in Fig. 6. The motor 26 drives, through itsdrive shaft 35 and a coupling 36, a worm 37, in driving engagement witha gear wheel 38 which, in turn, drives a small sprocket 39, with whichthe chain 23 is meshed for driving engagement.

A possible modification of this invention is that the chain 23 may bereplaced by a fabric V-belt or a fabric cog belt, to which theconnecting rod is pivotally attached in a manner similar to the pivotalattachment 22 of the connecting rod to the chain.

Another modification is that there may be two or more of the rollers 5,rather than only one, mounted on the carriage 6.

By varying the length of the special relaxing mechanism made inaccordance with this invention, it is adaptable to use in a suitablecouch or table for use in the home or office.

By this invention, there is provided a means of relaxing the back of apatient which is comfortable, removes congestion, and also promotesbetter circulation in general, especially to the thirty two pairs ofspinal nerves which help to regulate and control the circulation. Solong as the motor is operating, the freely rotating resilient rollertravels continuously up and down, relaxing the spine of the patientthrough the exible covering 4. Due to the action of the tension springs17 acting on tlhe bell crank member 10, the resilient roller 5automatically adapts itself to the contour of the patients back as itrolls upwardly and downwardly. Through one of the speed reduction meansprovided, the speed of rotation of the motor is reduced to a speed oftravel of the resilient roller which is most comfortable and effectivein treating the back of the patient.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art tlhat various changesmay be made in the invention, without departing from the spirit andscope thereof, and therefore the invention is not limited by that whichis shown in the drawings and described in the specification, but only asindicated in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A relaxing lounge dhair comprising a chair having a back, said backhaving an opening extending centrally thereof in a longitudinaldirection, a flexible covering over said opening, a track comprising tworails attached to Said back and extending parallel to said opening, acarriage supported on casters rolling on said rails, a freely rotating 4resilient roller supported by said carriage in contact with saidflexible covering through said opening, a pair of sprockets rotatablysupported by said back adjacent the ends of said opening, an endlesschain mounted for movement around said sprockets, a connecting rodpivoted to and connecting said carriage with said chain, a motor fordriving said chain and speed reduction means connected between saidmotor and one of said sprockets.

2. The invention according to claim 1 in which the bearing surfaces ofthe rails are V-shaped and the wheels are V-grooved.

3. The invention according to claim l in which the bearing surfaces ofthe rails are rectangular and the casters are single-flanged.

4. The invention according to claim l in which the speed reduction meanscomprises a train of pulleys of different diameters and belts connectedbetween them.

5. The invention according to claim 1 in which the speed reduction meanscomprises a worm and gear coni nection.

6. The invention according to claim 1 in which the roller is resilientlyurged against the exible covering.

7. The invention according to claim l in which there are a plurality offreely rotating resilient rollers supported by the carriage.

8. The invention according to claim 1 in which the endless chain isreplaced by an endless fabric belt.

9. A relaxing lounge chair comprising a chair having a back adjustablebetween vertical and horizontal positions, said back having an openingextending centrally thereof substantially from top to bottom of saidback, a flexible covering over said opening, a pair of rails attached tosaid back and extending parallel to said opening behind said covering, acarriage mounting casters rolling on said rails, a freely resilientroller supported by said car'- riage and spring-pressed into contactwith said covering through said opening, a pair of sprockets rotatablysupported by said back at spaced points adjacent the ends of saidopening, an endless chain mounted for movement around said sprockets, aconnecting rod pivoted toand connecting said carriage with said chain, amotor for driving said chain and speed reduction means connected betweensaid motor and one of said sprockets.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,501,341 Hoard July 15, 1924 1,645,339 Monroe Oct. 11, 1927 l 1,817,077Gustaveson Aug. 4, 1931 1.864.258 Roos June 2.1. 1932

